Utah and Idaho ban Pride flags, other ‘politicized flags’ on government property

Two Western states won’t be flying the Pride flag at their capitols or other government buildings anytime soon.

Both Idaho and Utah passed measures this year to restrict what flags state-owned offices and buildings can fly, pushing back on the “woke” agenda promoted under former President Joe Biden.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed a measure last week allowing only the following flags on government property: the American flag, state flags, the local government’s flag, military branch flags, the POW/MIA flag and the flags of Native American tribes.

The law does not apply to schools.

Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, the bill’s sponsor, said it would reduce division in the state.

“We need to get back to unity in this country, and unity in this state. This is about uniting,” Scott told House lawmakers last month. “Government should not be putting out ideologies. They should not – it should be a place where we can go and not be lobbied for a political agenda, and that is what this bill will do.” 

Opponents of the proposal included some Republicans who said they opposed ceding local control to the state government. 

“My concern is that we are, again, overreaching our ability here to tell … our local cities or our counties what they can and can’t do in their own city. And that’s where I say that we have a problem,” Rep. Lori McCann, R-Lewiston, said in the House debate. “Our platform clearly defines that we believe in local control.” 

However, Rep. Joe Alfieri, R-Coeur d’Alene, disputed that concern, saying the bill was about removing division from local government. 

“We’re overthinking this – as we often tend to do. This isn’t about local control. This is about government entities making political statements,” he said. “The government should be free from politics, and that’s all this is about. … Any government entity should not display a flag which takes a political issue. And that may be the rainbow flag or it may be a MAGA flag.” 

Utah enacted a similar law last month. 

Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, allowed it to become law without his signature. The Republican-controlled Legislature passed the bill with veto-proof majorities, meaning any veto would likely have been overridden. 

Still, that didn’t stop Cox, who vetoed a 2022 bill that would have prevented male transgender-identifying athletes from competing in girls’ sports, from criticizing the measure.  

“HB77 has been one of the most divisive bills of the session, and I am deeply disappointed that it did not land in a better place,” Cox said in a statement. “My understanding is that there was a deal on a compromise that would have removed problematic portions of the bill while retaining others that would support political neutrality in the classroom. Sadly the sponsors did not move that deal forward.” 

Utah’s law also applies to schools. Proponents of the measure said they want less politicized classrooms. 

“We are starting to see increasingly more hostile-type interactions between different political factions that we have within our society, and that is no different than what we’re starting to see a lot within our education system,” Rep. Trevor Lee, R-Layton, the bill’s original sponsor, told a House committee. “Our schools should be a place for children to learn, to not feel like they are being pushed or seen as agendas in one way or another as it pertains to political beliefs.” 

So far, the Idaho American Civil Liberties Union, which frequently sues to block legislation, has not weighed in on the new measures in Utah and Idaho.